RAF Salute

_ A Salute to the Royal Air Force on its 41st Anniversary _

Another signal event that comes to mind occurred on April 1st 1959.

WZ402 had been in the hangar that morning for a retraction test, and returned to the dispersal to await
an Air Test by W/C Baker. I was on the crew at this time, plugged in to the intercom. The W/C said “Chief,
the emergency-up has not been reset” Chief Tech Owen, who was about my size, replied “Could you reset it
once you are airborne Sir?” “No” came the reply, “you'll reset it now” At this point, the Wingco should
have shut down all systems and evacuated the cabin. He didn't and, as Chiefie reached up to reset, the
emergency-up was activated. Very gently, the nosewheel retracted and the Valiant settled onto its' nose.
Bill Craze, the Rigger on the crew, ran to the dispersal office and told Flt Sgt George Barman that '402'
had retracted on the pan. The Flight Sergeant told Bill “Bog off Craze, I know what day it is”. Funnily
enough, nothing more was heard of this event. Rank obviously carries its' benefits.